UPDATE: Surf City motel fire under investigation; man treated and released

The main office of Tiffany's Motel, several rooms of the motel and an adjacent vacation residence, seen in the foreground, were destroyed by fire early Thursday morning. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Published: Thursday, January 31, 2013 at 05:59 AM.

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Editor's note: To see video of this morning's blaze at Tiffany's Motel in Surf City, click here

Updated at 3:40 p.m.

Steven Pasquantonio and his family awoke early Thursday morning to the smell of smoke outside their
Surf
City
home.

Pasquantonio and his wife saw a small fire across the street at Tiffany’s Motel. He called 911 at
3:12 a.m.
and fire trucks arrived at
3:17
, he said.

But what firefighters found when they arrived was the motel well on its way to being burned to the ground with flames — whipped by 35 mph to 40 mph winds — spreading to nearby homes, said Surf City Fire Chief Joseph Rivenbark.

A state and federal investigation of the fire has begun, which destroyed one of the motel’s two buildings and a home next door. A second home was damaged, Rivenbark said. Neither home was occupied.

Editor's note: To see video of this morning's blaze at Tiffany's Motel in Surf City, click here

Updated at 3:40 p.m.

Steven Pasquantonio and his family awoke early Thursday morning to the smell of smoke outside their SurfCity home.

Pasquantonio and his wife saw a small fire across the street at Tiffany’s Motel. He called 911 at 3:12 a.m. and fire trucks arrived at 3:17, he said.

But what firefighters found when they arrived was the motel well on its way to being burned to the ground with flames — whipped by 35 mph to 40 mph winds — spreading to nearby homes, said Surf City Fire Chief Joseph Rivenbark.

A state and federal investigation of the fire has begun, which destroyed one of the motel’s two buildings and a home next door. A second home was damaged, Rivenbark said. Neither home was occupied.

The fire was knocked out in about 40 minutes, Rivenbark said, but was still smoldering later Thursday morning as firefighters put out hot spots.

When firefighters arrived, “we couldn’t save the motel so protection of the area around the residences was the main issue at the time,” he said.

The fire broke out in the only occupied room in the motel, Rivenbark said. One of the two unidentified men staying there sustained minor burns and was later released from NewHanoverRegionalMedicalCenter, he said.

Later Thursday, a two-story chimney stood amid the smoking rubble. The swimming pool was filled with debris and the fence around it was warped by the heat.

Two of what appeared to be propane tanks sat next to the building’s eastern foundation.

The wooden structure with shake siding was 35 to 40 years old, manager Regina Carter said Thursday morning as she and another employee stood across the street at the newer part of Tiffany’s Motel, which was not involved in the blaze.

Carter was not at the motel when the fire struck but arrived about 3:30 a.m. after hearing sirens. The motel’s office closes at 9 p.m., Carter said as firefighters delivered two computers salvaged from the fire.

The motel has two parts flanking North New River Drive. The section that burned to the ground was the original structure and contained the motel office.

A new building — three stories above pilings — was built on the west side of North New River Drive in 2008, Carter said.

The Surf City Fire Department was joined by units from North Topsail, TopsailBeach, Hampstead, Sloop Point, Turkey Creek and Sneads Ferry, Rivenbark said.

Also on the scene were the Pender EMS, the State Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the SurfCity police as well as SurfCity’s mayor and town manager.

The SBI and ATF’s involvement is customary when a commercial building is involved, Rivenbark said.

Pasquantonio, his wife and neighbors stood on the east side of the taped-off fire scene, their blue, second row home only a vacant lot away and the destroyed house directly across a narrow street.

Pasquantonio said that when he saw the fire, he got his wife and two young daughters out of the house. Their home sustained no damage, he said, because “the wind was blowing the right way for us.”

--

Updated at 11:12 a.m.

A fire that destroyed a Surf City motel is under investigation, and one person has been treated for minor burns.

About 3 a.m. Thursday, fire broke out at Tiffany’s Motel, 1501 N. New River Drive. At the time, there were two guests in the motel. One escaped without injuries and the other was taken to New Hanover Regional Medical Center with minor burns, said Surf City Fire Chief Charles Rivenbark.

When firefighters arrived on the scene shortly after 3 a.m., the fire was fully involved, so firefighters’ initial response to keep the fire from spreading, Rivenbark said.

A house next to the motel was destroyed and another nearby home was damaged, he said. High winds, which Rivenbark estimated to be between 35 mph and 40 mph at the time, made fighting the fire more difficult.

Fire departments from seven communities responded to the fire. Though the fire was under control by 6 a.m., as of 10 a.m., firefighters were still working to put out hot spots.

The motel has two parts on either side of the street. The section that burned to the ground was the original structure and contained the motel office and pool, which is now littered with debris.

Surf City Fire Department and Volunteer Department were joined by units from North Topsail, Topsail Beach, Hampstead, Sloop Point, Turkey Creek and Sneads Ferry, Collins said.

Also on the scene were the Pender EMS, the State Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Surf City police as well as Surf City’s mayor and town manager.

--

Updated at 8:45 a.m.

One person was taken to the hospital for burns on their arms and hands, according to Associated Press reports.

--

Updated at 7:41 a.m.

An early morning fire Thursday destroyed a Surf City motel, but there were no injuries, said Tom Collins, director of Pender County Emergency Management.

There was one occupant in Tiffany’s Motel, located at 1502 N. New River Drive, but they escaped, Collins said.

The fire, made worse by high winds, also destroyed a house behind the motel and badly damaged another. No one was home in either residence, Collins said.

Fire departments from seven communities responded to the fire, which began shortly after 3 a.m. Firefighters had to contend with strong winds, and though the fire was under control by 6 a.m., they were still working to put out hot spots as of 7:30 a.m., Collins said.

Collins explained that there are two parts of Tiffany’s Motel on either side of the street. The one that burned to the ground was the original structure.
Surf City Fire Department and Volunteer Department were joined by units from North Topsail, Topsail Beach, Hampstead, Sloop Point, Turkey Creek and Sneads Ferry, Collins said.

Also on the scene were the Pender EMS, the State Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Surf City police as well as Surf City’s mayor and town manager.

--

An early morning fire has destroyed Tiffany's Motel in Surf City, according to media reports.

The motel reportedly burned to the ground and the flames also spread to nearby homes. A house near the motel was destroyed by the fire while crews worked to save a second house that caught fire, according to area media.

Fire departments began to arrive at the motel around 3:15 a.m.

There is no report of any injuries. Officials are still looking for hot spots and for what started the blaze at the motel, Surf City Fire Chief Joey Rivenbark told area media.